Hosni Mubarak 'defibrillated after heart stops'

Hosni Mubarak, who has been in critical condition since the ousted Egyptian president was moved to prison, was defibrillated twice after his heart stopped on Monday, according to a prison hospital source.

Opposition activists are suspicious of the claims of Mr Mubarak's fast declinePhoto: EPA

3:12PM BST 11 Jun 2012

Mubarak's "heart stopped twice. Doctors had to use a defibrillator. He has been in and out of consciousness and has been refusing food," the source said.

Earlier, an Egyptian interior ministry source told the AFP news agency his condition was "critical but stable", as officials weigh transferring him to a Cairo hospital.

The 84-year-old former president was sentenced to life for suppressing a revolt against his rule in early 2011 during which nearly 850 protesters were killed.

His medical condition deteriorated and he suffered an emotional breakdown after being moved to Tora prison on the outskirts of Cairo on June 2, where he remains in intensive care in the prison hospital.

He has suffered from acute depression since his transfer, as well as periodic increases in blood pressure and shortness of breath, the interior ministry source said.